Revolving doors



April 969 D. A. RIDDLE 3,440,759

' REVOLVING DOORS Filed July 24, 1967 Sheet I of s A ril 29, 1969 D. A. RIDDLE 3,440,759

REVOLVING DOORS Filed July 24, 1967 Sheet 3 of a A ril 29, 1969 o. A. RIDDLE REVOLVING DOORS Sheet 3 of 5 Filed July 24 1967 Illlllu ll-I' United States Patent "ice 3,440,759 REVOLVING DOORS Donald Alfred Riddle, National Commercial Bank of Scotland Limited, 62 Lombard St., London E. C3,

England Filed July 24, 1967, Ser. No. 655,494 Int. Cl. Ed 15/02 US. Cl. 49-43 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to revolving door installations, such as may be found in hotels, department stores, offices and many other buildings where provision has to be made for the continuous traffic of persons into and out of the building or from one part of the building to another.

Most revolving door arrangements involve effort by the persons using them and also, when they are in motion, the exercise of courtesy and judgment if minor accidents and mis-understandings are to be avoided. Observation of the functioning of such doors suggests that difficulty and inconvenience are frequently experienced when the doors are required to be intensively used and the present invention has been devised with the general object of providing a revolving door construction of a simple and more .or less automatic character.

The invention accordingly consists in a revolving door installation comprising a motor-driven rotary door assembly having a fioor and which is divided by partitions into a series of compartments, with the floor part of each compartment having a pedestrian platform which is r0- tatably coupled to the door driving mechanism so that when the door assembly rotates through a predetermined angle a compartment platform is automatically turned through a compensatory angle such as will facilitate exit of a pedestrian from that compartment. The angle through which the platform turns is related to, and ordinarily the same as, the angle through which the rotary door assembly has to turn in order to bring the appropriate compartment from a position opposite one doorway to a position opposite another doorway so that a pedestrian entering a compartment and facing the corner of the compartment is turned counter to the direction of rotation of the whole door as the door rotates until by the time that compartment is opposite the exit doorway the pedestrian is facing outwardly ready to step through it.

One particular and at present preferred embodiment of 3,440,759 Patented Apr. 29, 1969 the invention, and variations therein, will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a revolving door assembly;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical section through the door operating mechanism;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged vertical section of part of FIG. 2;

FIGURES 4, 5 and 6 illustrate various alternative door control arrangements; and

FIGURES 7 and 8 diagrammatically illustrate some safety features.

Referring firstly to FIGURES 1 and 2 there is shown a revolving door assembly intended to be accommodated in an upright part-cylindrical space in a wall or other verti cal structural part of a building. The assembly comprises a central shaft 1 having a series of four equally spaced compartment-forming partitions 2 of conventional type. The central shaft is supported at its upper end in a bearing (not shown) and its lower end is attached to the upper element of a dog clutch, hereinafter more fully explained, by which the partitions 2 are coupled to a circular floor 3 which is flush with a surrounding stationary floor area 4. The circular floor 3 is peripherally supported by rollers 5 which run on a track 6 and is centrally supported by a series of webs 7 extending upwardly from a rotary carrier 8 carried on a needle thrust bearing 19 and upwardly fixed to the lower element of the aforesaid dog clutch.

The floor 3 is formed with four spaced apertures located centrally of the compartments and each occupied by a rotary circular platform 18 having a non-slip top surface which is flush with the floor 3. These platforms 18 are resiliently supported by spigots 9 and springs 10 from carrier arms 11 which are fixed to shafts 12 received in bearings at the periphery of the rotary carrier 8. Each shaft 12 has a pulley 13 fixed on its lower end and each of these pulleys is engaged by one or other of a pair of endless driving belts 14 which pass around one or the other of a pair of similar size stationary pulleys 15 fixed to a pedestal sleeve 16 through which there passes a main driving shaft 17 by which the carrier 8, whose hub 22 is supported by the thrust bearing 19, is driven. A gearbox 20 transmits the drive from an electric motor 21 to the driving shaft 17.

When the electric motor is in operation and with the clutch engaged, as is normally the case, the partitions 2 and the circular floor 3, rotate together slowly. Also in consequence of the connection by the belts 14 between the center of the door and the platform carrier arms 11, the platforms 18 each counter-rotate at a slow speed such that, assuming an entrance and an exit opening diametrically opposite one another, the platforms 18 counterrotate a half-turn for each half-turn of the floor 3. This has the effect that a person stepping on one of the platforms on entering the revolving door is automatically brought into an outwardly facing position at the exit without moving his feet.

While it is possible to arrange for periodical manual operation of the door or for continuous rotation of the door including the platforms by operation of an external master switch, it is preferred for economy of operation that the door should only move in consequence of a person entering one of the compartments and stepping on the associated platform 18. It is for this reason that in the embodiment described each of the platforms 18 is supported by the springs and that as diagrammatically shown in FIGURE 4, there is provided beneath each platform 18 a micro-switch 23 in circuit with the electric motor so that whenever a passenger steps onto or is standing upon a platform 18 the motor is energized or maintained energized to cause rotation of the door including the platforms.

Alternatively, starting and stopping of the revolving assembly could be effected as diagrammatically illustrated in FIGURE 5 by the employment of a series of photocells 24 and lamps 25, situated in the four compartments defined by the partitions, with the photo-cells being in a relay circuit controlling the power supply to the electric motor. In such an arrangement when a passenger enters a compartment, the beam of light directed at a photo-cell 24 by an opposite lamp 25 would be interrupted and would cause the motor to start to revolve the door. The door would continue to revolve for as long as any of the compartments was occupied by a passenger.

Alternatively, as indicated in FIGURE 6, rotation and stopping of the door assembly could be controlled by external photo-cell assemblies 26, 27 utilizing beams of light directed transversely across the approach paths to the door. FIGURE 6 also shows a further alternative control arrangement involving the use of pressure sensitive or spring suspended mats 28 at the approach paths to the door, or alternatively, control by means of pro-X- imity switches 29 similarly located.

In all instances, the revolving door preferably includes a stationary switch (not shown) located peripherally of the revolving door assembly for operation by a series of four cam surfaces (not shown) associated respectively with the four partitions. This would ensure that the door cannot stop in any position other than one in which one or other of the compartments is exactly aligned with an entry or exit opening.

In the above specifically mentioned embodiment with or without the various control means, as with all embodiments according to the invention, it is necessary to provide some means for uncoupling the door partitions from the floor in the event of an emergency such as excessive forward or backward pressure exerted from one cause or another upon the partitions. FIGURE 3 of the drawings, which is an enlargement of part of FIGURE 2, shows details of the clutch coupling which has already been mentioned. The clutch is a two-part dog clutch, lower element 30 of which is coupled to the floor carrier hub 22 (FIGURE 2) and upper element 31 of which is coupled to the central shaft 1. The element 31 is further coupled by a spring washer 35 to a sleeve 32 which is supported on a thrust bearing 33 but cannot move axially relative to the lower clutch element 30. The upper clutch element 31 has a marginal flange 34 with an upward annular projection 34a engaged by a pawl 36 pivotally mounted on a disc 37 associated with the shaft 1.

In the event of any of the partitions 2 experiencing a force sufficient to cause rotary movement of the partitions 2 at a different speed from the speed of rotation of the floor 3, the dogs of the upper clutch element 31 rise from the corresponding recesses in the lower clutch element 30, so that the two clutch elements become disconnected. The rising movement of the upper clutch element 31, and its flange 34, deflects the periphery of a spring washer 35 from the position shown in FIGURE 3, over its central undeformed position, into an upward position such that it is effective to maintain the clutch elements 30, 31 out of engagement. At the same time the pawl 36 is moved upwardly by the projection 34a. The clutch elements can only be re-engaged as a result of applying downward foot pressure to a circular housing 38, which is slidable relative to the central shaft 1. When this housing 38 moves down it engages the top of the pawl 36 which by pressing on the projection 34a presses down the clutch element 31 until the spring Washer 35 re-assumes the position in which it is shown in FIGURE 3. There is provided on a pedestal 40 a micro-switch 41 having an operating element 42 which is continuously depressed by the flange 34 for as long as the upper clutch element 31 is drivingly engaged with the lower clutch element 30.

When, however the upper clutch element 31 moves upwardly out of engagement with the lower clutch element 30 this micro-switch 41 ceases to be operated with the result that the motor 21 ceases to be energized and the lower clutch element 30 ceases to revolve.

In an alternative arrangement, the door is rotated continually at a relatively low speed and the pedestrian platforms are stationary or locked to the floors of their compartments when these are unoccupied. Entry of a pedestrian to a compartment would however cause engagement of a coupling between the associated platform and the door driving means so as to cause counterrotation of that platform in synchronism with the floor rotation until such time as the pedestrian leaves the compartment.

FIGURE 7 schematically illustrates an alternative arrangement for automatically arresting door rotation in the event of the obstruction of, or undue pressure upon, any of the partitions. In this arrangement a switch 43 is fitted opposite the end of each partition 2 and the partitions are attached to the central shaft 1 in a manner such that under an excess forwardly or rearwardly applied pressure or restraint they can yield as indicated by the arrows to dot-dash line positions 2a, 2b in which event the associated'switch 43 would cease to be operated and rotation of the floor 3 would cease.

FIGURE 8 shows a simple ancillary release mechanism which enables the door partitions to be turned manually while the circular floor remains stationary. To this end a partition shaft 44 is attached to a driven member 45 which is coupled to a floor driving member 46 by a removable pin 47.

In all arrangements each compartment could be equipped with an emergency stop switch operable by a pedestrian therein.

Instead of an electric motor and mechanical drive as above described an hydraulic pump and motor could be used for driving the revolving door assembly and each pedestrian platform could have its own electric or hydraulic motor. Also instead of belts and pulleys, chains and sprockets or gears could transmit the rotary motion to the pedestrian platforms.

I claim:

1. A revolving door installation comprising a structure defining a space between a pair of opposite entry and exit openings, a rotary door assembly occupying said space and driving mechanism for revolving said rotary door assembly, said rotary door assembly having a floor and radial partitions dividing the floor into a series of compartments, the floor of each said compartment having a pedestrian platform rotatably coupled to said driving mechanism, and each said compartment platform when said door assembly rotates being automatically turnable through a predetermined compensatory angle such that a pedestrian stepping on said platform at an entry opening is turned into facing relation with an exit opening.

2. A revolving door installation comprising a structure defining a space between a pair of opposite entry and exit openings, a rotary door assembly occupying said space, a motor and drive transmission mechanism for revolving said rotary door assembly, said rotary door assembly having a floor and radial partitions dividing the floor into a series of compartments, the floor of each said compartment having a pedestrian platform rotatably coupled to said drive transmission mechanism, each said compartment platform when said door assembly rotates being automatically turnable through a predetermined compensatory angle such that a pedestrian stepping on said platform at an entry opening is turned into facing relation with an exit opening, and means sensitive to the presence and absence of a pedestrian for controlling operation of said motor and drive transmission.

3. The revolving door installation as set forth in claim 2 in which said sensitive means are pressure switches controlling operation of said motor and operated by pedestrians stepping on and off the platforms.

6 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 640,998 1/1900 Dodge 4942 3,364,620 1/1968 Hess et a1. 4943 FOREIGN PATENTS 657,852 9/1951 Great Britain.

DENNIS L. TAYLOR, Primary Examiner. 

